SSBM Rank 2014 (60-51)

SSBM Rank 2014 (60-51)

For the second straight year, MeleeItOnMe is ranking every SSBM Player and counting them down on Twitter (#SSBMRank2014@Meleeitonme), from No. 100 to No. 1 .

We asked a panel of ~30 players/commentators/figureheads from all across the world to rate the overall level of play for each player in 2014 (From January 2014 –> The Big House 4). This includes evaluating perceived skill in tandem with the tournament results.

At Apex 2014, Excel Zero surprised everyone with his victories over PewPewU and Cactuar, making out of the pool in winner’s bracket. This Puerto Rican Peach has been heralded as a mini- Armada with his amazing float cancel aerials and damaging combos.

Rank

Jaden “VaNz” Carr

Score

59

(36)

Main(s)

Peach/Sheik

Region:

NEOH/PGH / Tri-State

7.188

Tourney Results

Apex 2014

MLG Anaheim

CEO 2014

Evo 2014

The Big House 4

–

–

–

–

33rd

Summary:

VaNz is recognized as a world class Peach main. He views himself more as a tactician when it comes to playing Peach, as opposed to an all out aggressive player, and his crisp punishes prove that. VaNz has taken wins over many great players such as Unknown522, PewPewU, Cyrain, and Abate. Although an honorary member Midwest’s NEOH/PGH region, he now resides permanently back in New York City.

The King of Smash made his epic full return in March when he was sponsored by Team Liquid, and has since been pushing forward in his home region of SoCal, taking out big names like Westballz and MacD, and remaining to place consistently at the always stacked local biweeklies, Super Smash Sundays.

One of the earliest players to effectively implement “shield dropping”, OkamiBW has a highly technical Sheik with solid spacing and zoning that’s difficult to hit, especially with floatier characters. He’s been experimenting with different styles of play in his recent SSS/Mayhem tournaments.

This no-frills Sheik continues to turn heads with his alarming rate of improvement. Originally rising to prominence as a “Falcon slayer”, taking sets off of S2J, Scar, and Hax, The Swede proved he’s no one-trick pony in 2014 with an outstanding 25th place at EVO after a summer abroad with no contact with the game. Known for his immaculate fundamentals and endless tech-chases, Swedish is arguably the best player in New Jersey in the absence of Mew2King. Expect that domain of dominance to expand as this rising talent continues to fine-tune his game.

Wielding a deadly combination of Jigglypuff and Captain Falcon, New England’s Darc remains to be a powerful player in his local community and always does solidly at majors and nationals alike, despite relative inactivity.

Despite infrequent stateside appearances, Toronto Marth main I.B. maintained top-player status in 2014 largely through a 7th place finish at Get On My Level and strong performances in local Ontario competition. His GOML run saw him flex a formidable punish game and claim quality wins over the likes of Raynex and Idea, losing only to Mew2King and DJ Nintendo.

Although active for several years, Porkchops has recently been on the rise in Florida and nationally, currently ranked 4th on Florida’s Power Rankings. Receiving training from other top Floridian Falco’s like Beer Man and DaShizWhiz, Porkchops continually increasing skill and determination makes him a big threat, proven further by his defeat of aMSa at CEO 2014.

Darkatma is a Peach/Sheik main, playing out of St. Louis and formerly of NorCal. For part of 2014, he was arguably the top player in the lower Midwest, with a number of victories over Illinois’s finest and a 17th-place finish at Apex. At tournaments like UFGTX and SMYM 15, his results fell behind those of Kels, but he remains one of the region’s top threats.

A veteran of nearly a decade in Ontario’s Melee scene, Raynex clawed his way back to prominence in 2014. With strong finishes at nationals including ROM 7 (17th), Get On My Level (9th), Super SWEET (7th), and The Big House 4 (25th), the Scarborough native and Fox main remains a credible threat to do damage at any event he enters.

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I am a Melee analyst, journalist, and commentator. I love to write narratives about players and deep analysis of individual matches and rivalries. Creator of the "Zero2Hero" series for Melee to train new players and a regular on the Melee It On Me Podcast

6 Comments

Ken should be lower than 58 I mean top 33 and under in ceo mlg and evo and being a high level teams player to boot. Thought last years rank was too low and I still feel that at 58! ,At least low 50’s high 40’s. Don’t forget he took a set off fly at KoC3 And got 13th at the stack KoC4 and 4th in teams at that event. Jank as hell but he clutches a lot .